Engine block with four-sided combustion chambers



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July 11, 1961 C l A. V

INVENTOR, M/ M United States Patent 2,991,771 ENGINE BLOCK WITH FOUR-SIDED p COMBUSTION CHAMBERS Alfred M. Caddell, 1318 W. Hunting Park Ave.,

' Philadelphia 40, Pa. Filed Dec. 29, 1959, Ser. No. 862,659

, 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S-41.59)

This is a continuation-in-part of copending application Serial No. 782,453 tiled December 23, 1958 entitled, Four-Sided Piston With Fluid Sealing Means.

The objects of this invention are to provide an appropriate type of combustion chamber for permitting functioning therein of a four-sided piston and to effect positive and regulated heat absorption from the combustion chamber walls so that neither overheating nor overcooling will affect the thermal eiciency of an engine. For, due to uneven distribution of heat throughout an engine, unless provision is made for local as well as general temperature control, hot spots will inevitably occur, thus seriously aifecting the .performance of the engine.

The pistons and cylinders of reciprocating engines have always been cylindrical in shape so that pressures in the fluid that operates them, such as steam or combustion gas, may be distributed uniformly throughout their structures. But both pistons and cylinders could be of any shape desired-from round to square to oblong-so long as appropriate sealing means are made available to prevent leakage of the working fluid between the pistons and their cylinder walls and provided, also, that a cylinder having unequal dimensions (non-round) would be adequately stressed to compensate for the differences in internal pressures imposed by such unequal pressures against the walls.

The advantages olered by an oblong piston operating in a similarly shaped chamber are set forth in pending application, Serial No. 782,453.

Being four-sided, the cylinder described herein will henceforth be more appropriately described as an expansion chamber.

Cylinders of air-cooled aw'ation engines have generally had -a plurality of lns extending outwardly from their surfaces so that the heat passing through their walls shall be absorbed convectively from the fins by air encountered in ilight lowing between them. But such engines are rarely equipped with positive temperature control means, with the result that air-cooled engines operating in the tropics or on sun-baked air strips cannot dissipate cylinder heat effectively, while those operating in colder climes suffer loss in thermal eiiiciency due to too rapid dissipation of heat. In stationary installations, air-cooled engines depend entirely upon built-in blowers to deliver or draw cooling air over their surfaces.

The present invention features heat absorbing systems wherein air is caused to Iflow by powered suction provided by a blower through a plurality of air channels bored in. an engine .block adjacent the exterior walls comprising thecombuston chambers. These air channels are formed both longitudinally and later-ally relative tothe upright positionof an engine, andare so spaced around the outer surface of the combustion chamber walls that the area therearound is totally free of pockets, or overheated spots, thus promoting heat absorption in accordance with the best operating temperatures of the engine.

Although formed in a single block, each combustion chamber has its individual thermal control means consisting of the aforesaid longitudinal and lateral air channels arranged around individual combustion chamber walls, the volume of air flowing through said channels being regulated by a butterily valve mounted in an exit duct associated with each individual chamber. The

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buttertiy valve of each duct may be set to allow a full or only a partial flow of air therethrough. The temperature of each chamber may be determined by thermocouple means (not shown) and the extent of opening of the valve thereby determined. Thus, the butterlly valve of a chamber that has been found to be operating too hot may be set in a full-open position, whereas a chamber having too low head and ange temperatures may have the flow of air therearound appropriately restricted.

Atnother object is to so locate the air channels around each combustion chamber that the strength of the walls comprising the chamber will be adequately maintained and, further, so space the lateral channels that the maximum air iiow for each chamber will occur in the area having the `greatest concentration of heat-namely, that part of the chamber immediately under the chamber head.

Other advantages in this form of combustion chamber construction will become apparent as the herein description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an engine block minus its head, showing a plurality of individually air-cooled, four-sided combustion chambers formed therein, together with a like number of four-sided pistons. In this View, longitudinal air channels spaced around the walls of each chamber, are shown in circular form, whereas lateral air channels bisecting said longitudinal channels, are shown in dotted outline. Butterfly valves are also shown in exit ducts having communication with a collector conduit.

FIG. 2 is a sideview of a single cylinder engine showing in dotted outline a number of longitudinal air channels and a number of lateral air channels communicating therewith and with an exit duct. The outline of a combustion chamber is also indicated in dotted outlines, the relative dimensions thereof being designated by a double-headed arrow in the crankcase part of this ligure.

FIG. 3 is a partially exposed side view of an engine block showing in dotted outline a plurality of longitudinal air channels and a plurality of air channels indicated by small circles extending laterally therethrough. Pistons for functioning in conventional iiring order l--S-S- 6--2-4 are shown in their respective chambers. Also, a linkage means for operating the buttery valves shown in FIG. l.

FIG.4 is an exposed end view of an engine block taken on the lines 4 4, FIG. 3, showing the bores of longitudinal and lateral air channels therein with arrows having curved ends to indicate the flow of air therefrom into an exit duct.

FIG. 5 is an external side view of an engine block together with the crankcase therefor, showing exit `ducts mounted on one side thereof for conveying air under suction into a collector conduit having communication with a blower.

A number of four-sided combustion chambers 2, FIGS. l and 3, are formed in block 1 for housing four-sided pistons P7, P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6 respectively. Block 1 has a head 1A,y FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Each chamber in the multi-chamber block has its own regulated air-flow system comprised of a plurality of spaced longitudinal bores 7 and spaced lateral bores 8 which communicate with the longitudinal bores as shown in FIGS. l, 2, 3 and 4 to form a network of channels around each chamber.

After the bores have been made in the engine block to form the lateral channels, plugs 9 are inserted at speciiic locations in said bores to isolate the heat absorbing system of one chamber from the heat absorbing system of its neighbor chamber.

In FIG. 1, it will be noted, the longitudinal channels of one system are staggered relative to the longitudinal channels of its neighbor system. That is, the longitudinal channels extending around the rst combustion chamber, reading from left to right, and the longitudinal channels around the second chamber are, looking lengthwise of the block, not in line with those surrounding the rst chamber.` The same staggered relation is followed throughout the rest of the engine block. By thus spacing the bores that portion of the block between each combustion chamber is enabled to maintain its originally designed strength and still provide channels for the flow of heat-absorbing air therethrough.

As indicated in FIG. 4, lateral channels 8 have their beginnings on one side of the block and pass therethrough in close proximity to each side of each combustion chamber, thereafter communicating with exit ducts 1`=1 which, in turn, communicate via connecting duct '11C with collector conduit 12 secured to the intake side of blower 13. These lateral channels bisect the longitudinal channels and inasmuch as the air passing through the lateral channels is traveling at a high rate of speed in response to the suction pull created by the blower, it entrains air which enters the longitudinal channels through the head and through the block to within close proximity of the bottom thereof, as indicated by bottom section 1B, FIG. 4. Hence the head is maintained in a safe temperatureoperating range, as are also the walls of each combustion chamber.

Arrows 14, FIG. 1, indicate the flow of heat-absorbing air through lateral channels 48 land arrows 15, which have a double-curving tail, indicating the ow of air from around the sides of the combustion chamber for conveyance as aforesaid to the blower.

It will also be noted that lateral channels 8, as shown in FIG. 3, are closer to each other in the top area of the combustion chamber than the channels in the base part of the block. Consequently, the temperature of the block in its more critical area will be maintained in a thermally ecient operating range.

As shown in FIG. l, a buttery valve 16 is provided in exit duct 11B of each heat-absorbing system Each of these valves may be set to permit any desired volume of heat-absorbing air to flow through the channels. Hence, if as determined by thermocouple or other means, the temperature of any specic combustion chamber is too high or, on the other hand, too low, the valve of any specic system may be set accordingly to permit the correct volume of air to ow under constant suction pressure through that system. These valves may be operated in unison by linkage means 17 to effect opening and closing thereof in accordance with their settings.

Blower 13 may be of conventional design, containing a wheel for taking in air centrally from collector conduit 12 and throwing it centrifugally through its discharge opening 13A. This wheel may carry pulley 21 on its shaft 22 to be driven via V-belt 23 by pulley 24 mounted on crankshaft 25 extending through the crankcase part of the engine.

The exit ducts may be secured to the engine block by a plurality of screw bolts 18. These ducts may be comprised of two parts, an upper part K11A facing the discharge outlets of lateral channels 8 and a bottom -part 111B containing the buttery valve and made attachable to the engine block by langes 19 secured to the engine block by a plurality of screw bolts 20, FIGS. 1 and 5.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. In an engine block having a body, a head, a base and sides, a plurality of combustion chambers formed in said body, said chambers being comprised of two walls having equivalent depth and width on two sides parallel to each other and equivalent depth but narrower width on two other sides, the latter two walls being spatially positioned at right angles to the first-mentioned two walls to comprise unequally dimensioned chambers for freely encompassing pistons having like shapes, a plurality of bores formed through said head and extending spatially through said block adjacent to each of said chamber walls, said bores being longitudinally disposed relative to the upright position of said block and terminating short of said base, a plurality of other bores spatially formed through said block adjacent to each of said chamber walls at right angles to the first-mentioned bores and bisecting said longitudinal bores to form a network of channels comprising a heat-absorbing system around each chamber, said other bores commencing on one side and continuing through said longitudinal bores to have air communication therewith and through the opposite side of the block to form relative to the upright position there of laterally disposed air-how channels, a plug inserted on the air intake side of said block in each of said lateral bores between the walls comprising said chambers to isolate the heat-absorbing system of one chamber from the heat-absorbing system of a neighbor chamber, a plurality of ducts removably secured to said opposite side of the block, said ducts extending the full depth of the block and each duct being positioned opposite to the exit end of each of said lateral channels to receive air therefrom, valve means positioned in each of said ducts to regulate the flow of said air passing therethrough, powered suction means mounted exteriorally to said block and a collector conduit having communication therewith and with said ducts for conveying in response to said suction means the air passing through each of said heat-absorbing systems.

2. The engine block described in claim il wherein said lateral channels are positioned in the area of the chamber immediately adjacent said head closer to each other than in the area adjacent said base.

3. The engine block described in claim l wherein the longitudinal bores spatially surrounding the walls of one chamber are positioned relative to the lengthwise dimension of said block linearly out of line with the longitudinal bores surrounding the walls of a neighbor chamber.

4. The engine block described in claim 1 wherein each of said valve means is installed in the duct respective thereto at a setting to regulate, in accordance with the temperature of the heat-absorbing system of each chamber and in accordance with the exterior valve operating means, the volume of air being drawn through each system by said powered suction means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,728,514 Snyder Sept. 17, 1929 1,780,809 Bowen Nov. 4, 1930 2,459,447 Milliken Jan. 18, 1949 2,904,021 Stump Sept. 15, 1959 

